Day 24 – White Sands

White Sands is the place they used to land the space shuttles, right? Well, yes, but it is so much more. We had heard about sand dunes there, but we were dismayed at what we found.

Driving into the White Sands National Park in southern Neew Mexico we were astonished at just how white the sand was. It wasn’t a buff, gray, or light tan color. It was a blindingly bright white! Even with our sunglasses on, it was bright. It seemed like new snow on a bright sunshine day.

The road into the park winds through and around these beautiful white dunes. There are parking lots for picnics, day hikes, and backcountry camping. Quite a few children had snow disks that apparently slide just as well on the sand dunes, as on snow. To judge by the laughter and shouts of glee, they were having a great time.

We found our own area of the dunes to explore. The sand itself is the cleanest sand we’ve ever seen. It didn’t leave the residue or grit that you usually feel after holding sand. Also, we noticed that our shoes didn’t really track much sand into our camper when we went in for lunch.

Climbing the dune was a challenge. It was cool to the touch and pretty slippery to climb... two steps up, one slide back. However, it was good exercise and a unique experience. This park is quite a national treasure!



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